Coatesville school board split on Como exit pay

In this file photo, former Coatesville Superintendent Richard Como speaks during an event held to show support for the Coatesville Area Senior High School Air Force ROTC program.
Staff photo by Tom Kelly IV

CALN – Newly elected Coatesville Area School Board members were faced with a challenging decision during their first official meeting Tuesday when they were asked to vote on an agreement signed by former Superintendent Richard Como without having the opportunity to review the document beforehand.

In a 4-4 vote, school board members failed to pass a resolution agreement signed by Como that paid him $70,000 in unpaid sick, vacation and unused personal days. The agreement was drafted to protect the district by barring Como from filing any future legal claims, according to district solicitor James Ellison.

Como and former Director of Athletics and Activities Jim Donato abruptly departed from the district during the first week of the school year after racist and sexist text message exchanges were discovered on their district-issued cell phones.

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Their resignations were approved at the September meeting despite the community’s outcry to terminate Como and Donato instead of allowing them to walk away from their positions without any repercussions.

Both men were allowed to submit letters of resignation, an option school board members felt would be less financially burdensome on the school district. That arrangement included the agreement signed by Como.

“The goal here was to get Como and Donato out of the district as expeditiously as possible and to avoid an occurrence in any legal fees,” Ellison said Wednesday.

Although the district took steps to avoid a future lawsuit, Tuesday’s failure to pass Como’s resolution agreement made the school district vulnerable to a possible lawsuit, school board member Rick Ritter said after Tuesday’s meeting.

“This would have locked it down . . . this is just now him, the other side, releasing any and all, basically absolving us from walking away,” Ritter said.

According to Ellison, Como was entitled to receive payments of unpaid sick days, vacations days, unused personal days and length of service steps. But the school district and school board members thought the “extra added layer” would protect them from additional legal costs.

“The agreement is releasing the school board and district from any claims or causes of action whatsoever that (Como) could bring to the school district in connection with his employment,” Ellison said.

Per Como’s contract, he was entitled to receive payments following his leave from the district. Ellison said Como had already received those payments after he signed the agreement and before the school board voted.

Newcomers Stu Deets, Deborah Thompson and Kim Mammel, along with school board member Diane Brownfield, objected to approving the resolution. School board member Laurie Knecht, Jim Fox, Ritter and Campbell voted to approve the agreement. School board member Paul Johnson was not in attendance due to health reasons.

Thompson said she did not vote to approve the agreement because she was unsure of its details. She said newly elected school board members did not receive an explanation of the agreement prior to the meeting, nor were there details posted on the meeting agenda.

“I didn’t see it,” she said, adding that she hoped there would have been an executive session to discuss the agreement. “I will not vote for anything that I have not read.”

On Wednesday, Deets told the Daily Local News he was not satisfied with the information provided to him prior to Tuesday’s school board meeting and noted that new members were not provided with an opportunity to review the agreement before they were called to vote on it.

“I don’t want to vote on a resolution until I see a resolution,” Deets said.

There may have been some confusion when the agreement was described to new school board members, Ellison told the Daily Local News Wednesday. Ellison said he plans to explain the agreement to all school board members and expects the item to appear on the January meeting agenda.

“In hindsight and given the confusion regarding (the agreement) what we could have done before starting last night’s meeting, we could have gone into executive session,” he said.

The Daily Local News requested a copy of the agreement. Ellison declined, explaining the document is not a part of public record until the agreement is approved by school board members. Until then, the agreement is not official.

Coatesville Area School Board committees meeting is on Jan. 14 at 6 p.m. and the next regular school board meeting is on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the high school 9/10 Center auditorium.

Follow Daily Local News staff writer Kristina Scala on Twitter @Scala_Kris and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KristinaScalaDLN.